Charlotte Jones RN BSN MSN with a group from Savannah Grande in Sarasota.

Comfort Keepers sponsored these talks on Arthritis to a group of residents interested to learn more how diet and exercise can help with the pain.

Charlotte has presented on many topics of interest to the resides and family’s throughout the community.

For More information on scheduling Charlotte to speak to your group call:

Michael Jones

Certified Senior Advisor

Comfort Keepers

941-921-4747

Sarasota – Bradenton – Venice

Selected as a Finalist in Sarasota Magazine’s Best of 2012

While Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the origin of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, it’s tough to confirm conclusively the source of the day. It is much more likely that it had many individual beginnings; each of those towns and every scheduled or spontaneous meeting of people to honor the war dead in the 1860′s identified the common human need to honor our dead, each added honestly to the growing movement that culminated in Gen Logan giving his formal proclamation in 1868. It is not important who was the very first, what is essential is that Memorial Day was established.

Memorial Day is not about dividing. It is about getting back together; it is about coming together to honor those who gave their all. Traditional observance of Memorial Day has diminished over the years. Many Americans these days have forgotten the significance and customs of Memorial Day. 

Since the late 50′s on the Thursday before Memorial Day, the 1,200 soldiers of the 3d U.S. Infantry place small American flags at each of the more than 260,000 gravestones at Arlington National Cemetery. They then patrol 24 hours a day during the weekend to ensure that each flag remains standing.

In 1951, the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts of St. Louis began placing flags on the 150,000 graves at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery as an annual Good Turn, a practice that continues to this day. More recently, beginning in 1998, on the Saturday before the observed day for Memorial Day, the Boys Scouts and Girl Scouts place a candle at each of approximately 15,300 grave sites of soldiers buried at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park on Marye’s Heights (the Luminaria Program). And in 2004, Washington D.C. held its first Memorial Day parade in over 60 years.

To help re-educate and remind Americans of the true meaning of Memorial Day, the “National Moment of Remembrance” resolution was passed on Dec 2000 which asks that at 3 p.m. local time, for all Americans “To voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to ‘Taps.”

The Moment of Remembrance is a step in the right direction to returning the meaning back to the day. What is needed is a full return to the original day of observance. Set aside one day out of the year for the nation to get together to remember, reflect and honor those who have given their all in service to their country.

According to a survey by AARP called Home and Community Preferences of the 45+ Population, most adults want to grow older living in the home and community they know. Of the 1,616 respondents who participated in the survey, three-quarters strongly agreed with the statement, “What I’d really like to do is stay in my current residence for as long as possible.”

In the same survey, when respondents were asked about the different aspects of their community and how important they are, two-thirds said that being near friends and family is extremely or very important to them, as well as being near places that they visit, such as grocery stores, doctors’ offices and the local library.

“(Home) is a known quantity. Your family is around you, your community is around you. It’s not a sterile, institutional situation; you’re not just a bed in a room,” explained AARP spokeswoman Christina Clem.

Of course, there is that ubiquitous baby boomer generation that is going to have its hands in defining the future of in-home care as well. There are about 6 million seniors age 65 and older who need daily assistance, 4.6 million in the community and 1.3 million in nursing homes, according to the AARP Public Policy Institute. But because of the boomer generation, these figures are going to keep rising.

The number of Americans turning 65 or older is occurring at a rate of about 8,000 per day. By the year 2025, there will be 72 million boomers, which is more than double the 35 million in 2000.

And they aren’t exactly shy about asking for what they want.

As Clem put it when referring to the growing push for more government and community support for home care: “The baby boomers say they want to stay in their home, and they’re very vocal that they will advocate for it.”

They also are getting more educated about what home-based care entails, in many cases because they are looking for ways to meet the needs of their own elderly parents.

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Since 1963, areas across the nation have come together to celebrate Older Americans Month—a very proud practice that exhibits our nation’s dedication to recognizing the contributions and achievements of older Americans.

The topic for Older Americans Month 2012, “Never Too Old to Play…”
inspires older Americans to continue to be involved, active and involved in their own lives and in their communities.

Here are some creative ideas for Older American’s Month

Brain Activities

Older adults may experience multiple changes in the structure and activity of the brain that can affect how we move and think. But developing studies show that specific actions can teach and spark the brain, bettering its efficiency and potentially even decreasing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. While we do not know which specific daily activities may be of benefit, the ones mentioned below are fun ways to engage your brain.

Consider offering some of these events for Older Americans Month:

- Trivia competition. You’re never too old to play trivia! It’s a great way to bring together older adults and their younger friends and neighbors for a couple of hours of fun and discovery. As a featured activity for Older Americans Month 2012, AoA has developed a team trivia game for your Day of Play. Players will exercise their minds in a 90-minute competition, where intergenerational groups of four to six people gather to answer trivia questions about culture, major events, and sports.

-Crossword puzzles. Crossword puzzles are excellent mental exercises. In the spirit of Older Americans Month, AoA has developed a series of crossword puzzles that you can print and distribute to Day of Play participants.

-Traditional games. Games like Scrabble, bridge, and pokeno are timeless classics and have the potential to be fun intergenerational games. Hold a game night and invite participants to form teams to play these traditional games. Provide a venue, a few decks of cards, a handful of board games, and let the good times roll!

-Continuing education/speaker series. Talk to the older adults you work with and find out what topics interest them. A speaker series as part of your Day of Play might include local professors, authors or others expert in their fields giving presentations on the topics of greatest interest.
To learn more about brain health, please visit:

National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging Memory/Cognitive Health

Alzheimer’s Association: Brain Health

Take care of the seniors in your life and celebrate National Older American’s Month.

Home health nurses can be an invaluable resource for many families, providing aging loved ones with skilled, home-based services that include:

• patient assessments;

• disease treatment, education and prevention;

• injections, intravenous therapy and wound care.

And all of this is administered in the comfort of your loved one’s home and in a way that is designed to minimize hospital visits.

When choosing a home health care provider, there are several important questions to consider:

• How long has the home health agency been in business? Working with an established agency will allow you to investigate its reputation and evaluate its track record.

• Is the agency licensed and certified? You can review home health licensure information atwww.medicare.gov. Understanding these credentials is critical because Medicare will only cover home health services if the agency is Medicare certified.

• Is the agency staff specially trained? The staff should specialize in the unique needs of older adults and utilize outcome-based care programs.

• Does the agency create a personalized plan for each patient? By providing individual plans, a home health care provider is less likely to overlook important aspects of the patient’s needs.

For information on home health services or to find a home health agency in your area, visitwww.liftcaregiving.com.

On May 6, 2012, we are joining the American Nurses Association in honoring Nurses: Advocating, Leading, Caring, as part of National Nurses Week, which is held May 6-12, annually. The aim of the week long festivities is to raise awareness of the significance of nursing and help educate everyone regarding the role nurses engage in meeting the health care goals of the American people.

To honor the dedication, commitment, and tireless commitment of the nearly 3.1 million registered nurses nationally to increase and care for the health and wellbeing of the US, the American Nurses Association is elated to acknowledge registered nurses in all places on this selected day for the caregiving and top quality work they provide seven days a week, 365 days a year.

In tribute to Nursing: Advocating, Leading, Caring, all registered nurses in America are encouraged to proudly wear the official ANA “RN” pin or any other pin that plainly recognizes them as registered nurses, and/or their nurses uniform on May 6, 2012.

Nurses: Advocating, Leading, Caring

Often identified as an art and a science, nursing is a job that embraces committed individuals with distinct pursuits, skills and loves because of the many choices the profession has. Nurses are caregivers, work in emergency rooms, school based clinics, and homeless shelters, among others. They have many assignments – from staff nurse to educator to nurse practitioner and nurse researcher – and perform all of them with excitement for the industry and with a strong commitment to patient safety.

National Nurses Week History    

National Nurses Week starts off yearly on May 6th and ends on May 12th, Florence Nightingale’s birthday.

These solid dates improve planning and positions National Nurses Week as an organized recognition event. As of 1998, May 8 was designated as National Student Nurses Day, to be recognized each year. And as of 2003, National School Nurse Day is celebrated on the Wednesday within National Nurses Week (May 6-12) each year.

The nursing business has been backed and publicized by the American Nurses Association (ANA) since 1896.

Each of ANA’s state and territorial nurses associations promotes the nursing profession at the state and regional levels. Each conducts celebrations on these dates to recognize the contributions that nurses and nursing make to the community.

If you know a registered nurse, be sure to thank him or her for their service during National Nurses Week 2012.

But have you ever read the obituaries? Here you find a story that is about a lifetime; about a meaningful, connected and productive life.

Today’s elderly are living longer, adding to their already storied life. And those of us who provide home care services get to learn about history through those we serve. We learn about life during different decades, eras and fads. We learn about our client’s personal life, family life, and what it takes to get as far as he or she has. We go right into our clients homes and see pictures, furnishings, what they eat, where they sleep, and who comes to visit or not.

The people we have the good fortune of serving inspire us. Did you see the human spirit in the woman in the wheelchair at a recent senior dance? There was a lot more left than a tired body.

What did it take to get through the Holocaust, a world war, the Depression? Coming into this country as an immigrant, having nine children, being a devoted spouse, being one of the first women allowed to be in active duty in the military, a dedicated educator, an inventor, a factory worker, or builder of tall buildings?

Home care workers see it all in diminished bodies but still vibrant souls with a lot to offer through their stories told, in the sparkle of their eye and in their smile.

We now get to carry the laundry basket, make the bed, drive the car, wipe the tears, help plant the garden, assist in getting washed up and dressed, navigate the curb, call the oil company, talk to the daughter and wheel around Wal-Mart together.

Life is rich, people are strong, and the message our seniors give the younger generation is, “We can do this!”

“It’s an honor to be recognized by the people in this great community. They are the ones we serve and we value their opinions,” stated Michael Jones, Certified Senior Advisor and owner of Comfort Keepers of Sarasota. “It is our mission to provide the best, most compassionate care possible while also educating the clients and their loved ones.”

The year started on a high when Comfort Keepers® In-Home Care was highlighted by the Fox News morning show, Fox and Friends, as one of the top five companies in the U.S. hiring in 2012.   The local office in Sarasota made headlines as it announced plans to hire about 10 to 15 people each month to serve as caregivers.

This year has been one of significant growth and recognition. Comfort Keepers® has been selected for the 2011 Best of Sarasota Award in the Assisted Living & Elder Care Services category by the U.S. Commerce Association (USCA).  Michael Jones has celebrated four-and-a-half years of hosting “Connecting with Seniors” TV show. He was also elected president of the Sarasota County Aging Network (SCAN).

For the past ten years, Comfort Keepers Sarasota has been awarded the “Presidents’ Club” recognition as one of the franchise’s top offices. In 2011, one of the Sarasota Comfort Keepers caregivers was chosen as the Comfort Keepers of the Year in the Southeast Region. This year, one of their caregivers was a finalist.

In addition to awards and recognition, Sarasota Comfort Keepers has consistently given back to the community. The company is a generous supporter of the local Alzheimer’s Association and its programs as well as the Parkinson’s Association. In the fall, Comfort Keepers initiated an area-wide food drive that collected more than 1700 pounds of food to help combat senior hunger.

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About Comfort Keepers®

Comfort Keepers^® is a leading franchise network in the in-home care market for senior and other adults needing care.  Since its founding in 1998, the network has grown to more than 650 franchised locations around the world by staying true to the founders’ goal of providing quality, caring in-home services that allow clients the opportunity to age in place. Comfort Keepers provides in-home care services for aging adults, new mothers and others needing assistance with daily activities.   For more information, visit www.sarasota.comfortkeepers.com.